Summer

Yes...I know...I'm WAY behind on my posts this summer. I have a lot to catch you up on.

June:

Walleye Weekend. I "ran" the 2 mile. Was 269 out of 321. 22 minutes. Was nice to have my friend Katie jog along side of me and keep me motivated. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have ran at all. I'll say it again. I'm not a runner and I'll never be a runner. Olivia "ran" the 1/3 mile. I carried her 2/3 of the way while she screamed and then made her run the rest of the way. She was tired. It was nap time. It was HOT. I think it was in the 90's already. She did fine once she saw Bampa cheering her on and saying it's ok. We were 2nd to last. But not last:)

Fell asleep in 4.5 seconds

Olivia ready for her race

Tammy and her family stayed for the weekend and we had a great time hanging out. We also got to meet up with Katie on Sunday. So nice to see my girls. We've know each other since 1990. Crazy.

Katie, Me, Tammy all with strollers!

The next weekend Shawn had a party after him and the boys did the High Cliff Tri. It was hot. Again. I don't mind it, as long as others don't mind me sweating. I normally sweat a lot. Then add on chasing a toddler for 3 hours. I was done. It was great to see everyone and have the kids get together.

Watch out Jahner!

Then the following weekend we went to see the bike races and go to the beach at Terre Andre State Park. Olivia loved the beach. Another hot day, so we welcomed the cold water. The next day we went to VandeHei's cottage and swam for a bit. Had a blast! Olivia is my little fish:)

loves the sand!

watching the bikes.

My bathing beauty!

July:

I had off the day after the 4th, so it was like I had a little vacation that week. Kind of. We spent the 4th at Roblee's cottage and had a great time with friends and fireworks. I finished moving out of my house. Went to a few open houses in Fondy. Saw the Wounded Warriors softball team play. Very inspiring. Made a trip to the pool.

Bampa and Olivia eating corn

Closed on my house and lost everything on the 11th. Whew.

2 days later had lunch with a great friend, Megan, and visited my friends at Kohl's. They hadn't seen Olivia since she was 5 weeks old!

Jerry (Tammy's husband) was in town for work, so we had a date night out at Backyard Grill. It was nice! We had a great dinner, conversation and drink. Thanks, Jerry!

Another trip to the pool.

Fond du Lac County Fair. Just Olivia, the carnies and I. It was fun. She loved seeing all the animals.

Olivia playing in the corn

Cheese

Then the next night, while we were about to start dinner...BAM! Olivia was screaming and I ran to her. Quickly picked her up and she was upset. She finally calmed down and I sat her on my lap. Then I heard, "I think she's bleeding." Sure enough. She cut her head. Not sure how or on what. So I dabbed it with a kleenex. It was cut enough, but not sure if we needed stitches or not. Thought we should go just in case. The nurse checked her out before we even checked in, which was nice. So Shauna, Olivia and I sat there for well over 2 hours. Mostly laughing at the Fondy clientele in the ER. Pretty amusing. She ended up getting her cut glued and we were out of there. Thank you Shauna for leaving your party to come sit with me:) So we ate dinner after 9 and then went home to bed. Not that fun spending the night in the ER, when we were in the hospital 12+ hours every day for 3 weeks this time 2 years ago. Oh well.

Shauna and Olivia in the ER

Olivia's cut

July 22nd. 2 years that Patrick left us. I was more anxious on the days leading up to it than I was the actual day. Ended up going to the Mount Calvary parade with my brother and his family and my mom. Kids loved it and had a blast. Then Olivia and I went to an open house and the brought Gilles (one of Patrick's favorite) to him at the cemetery. We then had dinner at my parents house for my brother's birthday. It was a nice day... considering.

Eating her cheeseburger with Daddy

Flowers left for Patrick. (Not shown, R2D2 from Shawn)

Olivia and Daddy

The girls at Grandma and Grandpa's

On our walk

Then the next week I got to see an old friend of mine after many years. Tracie or "mom" as we called her in high school. It was so great catching up. Thanks Tracie for a great lunch!

Then...Finally....I had some alone time with my girls. We went to a Brewer game. Amy, Kristeen, Christine, Kelly (our pregnant DD) and me. It was so fun. Started out at Kelly's Bleachers, caught a bus to the stadium, had a beer or two with a hot dog, ran into old HS friends, came back to our seats and I think the Brewers lost. So we went back and had drinks at Kelly's again. Then drove back to Fondy. Decided to stop in at the Shack, as it is literally on my way home. We pull in and see that it is busy! Excited to see what's going on. Wonder if it was a cool band? Nope. We were the only girls like us when we entered. It was a Quinceanera. So, we quickly drank our drink and headed home. We are old and we were tired. Chatted some more and then went to bed. Woke up and made a nice big breakfast and chatted some more. I could have used 5 more days like that. I love hanging out with my girls and I don't get alone time very much. Well, unless I'm at work.

Christine, Me, Kristeen, Kelly, Amy

August:

This leads us into the most recent weekend. Friday was Relay For Life. Again, we had a good time, but really missed Patrick.

Zimmerman Cousins:Eli-5, Alayna-22 mos, Kate-2, Olivia-21 mos, Mia-6, Rachel-7, Will-22 mos

Olivia and Grandpa taking a lap

Olivia got her face painted for the first time. A purple heart for Patrick

Saturday I did some "school" shopping and saved a ton of money. Obviously. I had coupons.

My Diva shopper

Sunday I went to the Madison Zoo with Mike, Shauna and the kids. It was a beautiful day outside and we had fun. It was also my parents 40th wedding anniversary! Congrats! Unfortunately, I'll never celebrate that many. Lucky to know someone who will.

Olivia, Rachel, Nate, Kate, Eli

My little O.

This weekend we'll celebrate Patrick's birthday. This is the 3rd one without him. He would have been 37. We'll light a lantern into the sky in his honor, 3 years in a row.

Work is going really well. Love my job and the people I work with. I actually look forward to going to work again, which doesn't happen to often.

Still on the hunt for that perfect home. I've had to lower what I'm looking for since my buyers of my old house took all my money. Along with my horrible realtor from Coldwell Banker. Note to self, don't use Coldwell Banker in Milwaukee...especially Jackie B. I'm lucky to have a great realtor right now that actually looks out for my best interests. Not like the last two. Pretty lucky!

I'd like to say thank you again for all of my friends and family that have been here for me these past two years. I wouldn't have been able to do anything without them. Thank you.